photo: Andre Ringuette/IIHF
Sweden defeated Japan 6-2 this afternoon in Utica in the 500th game in Women’s World Championship history. The win assures them of a spot in the quarter-finals and leaves Japan in a desperate situation as they try to avoid relegation.
Sweden lost Game 1 in WW history, on March 19, 1990, 15-1 to hosts Canada, but today they were the better team and improved their record to 3-0. They have given up a mere 33 shots through those three games. The loss is the third in a row for coach Yuji Iizuka’s team and means that not only do they have to win their final game against Denmark on Tuesday, they need a little help along the way as well.
Sweden closes out its preliminary round with a game against Germany tomorrow.
"Overall, we played well but sometimes we let them create chances that didn't have to happen, but we're happy that we're scoring a lot of goals," said Hilda Svensson. "We have to keep shooting, keep crashing the net."
"I think we played well, and we got goals from a lot of didfferent players, which is good going forward," added Hanna Olsson. "We're really excited for the quarter-finals, but we have one more game first, and it's important we play well and finish strongly in the group. We want to keep going and keep skating. We're a hard-working team."
Group B is a tough test for the five teams. The top three advance to the playoffs while the bottom two are automatically demoted to Division I-A for 2025. Japan has not played down since 2017, and demotion would be a significant blow to its program.
"To start the game we felt confident, but Sweden is a good team and had too much speed at times," said forward Akane Shiga. "In the second period, we started to play better. But now, we have to move on and get ready for the next game. We have to support each other and stay confident and motivated."
Today, the Japanese got off to a slow start and Sweden capitalized with two early goals to take control. The first came on a power play at 6:45. Goalie Riko Kawaguchi lost her stick making a save on a Ebba Hedqvist shot, and moments later Hebqvist got a second chance from the slot and fired between the goalie’s legs on a screen for a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Sweden doubled its lead on a similar play. This time it was Josefin Bouveng from the point, and again her shot found its way through traffic to beat Kawaguchi.
Japan had a great chance to get back into it with a couple of late chances. Makoto Ito got behind the defence and went in alone, but Emma Soderberg was patient with the deke and made the pad save. A short time later, Japan had a two-on-one but couldn’t get a shot on goal.
But Japan came out with a greater sense of purpose in the second and were rewarded. When Sweden failed to clear their zone, Shiori Koike spotted Haruka Toko alone in front. Toko made a nice deke and slid the puck under Soderberg at 7:23 to make it a one-goal game.
A flurry of activity towards the end of the period had the timekeeper working hard to keep up. It started with a power play for Japan, and a faceoff win in the Sweden end. Akane Shiga took a weak shot from a long way out, but Makoto Ito swatted it out of mid-air past a surprised Soderberg to tie the game at 18:12.
Just 16 seconds later, however, that same Ito incurred a penalty, and eight seconds after that Sweden went ahead with a power-play marker of their own. This time it was a Hilda Svensson seeing-eye shot through a tangle of players that gave Sweden the lead again, 3-2.
The Swedes re-gained their two-goal lead early in the third thanks to an unwise pinch at the Sweden blueline by Japan's Haruka Toko. Thea Johansson picked up the puck and dashed the length of the ice, deking Kawaguchi at 4:58 to make it a 4-2 game.
Sweden added to their total five minutes later off the rush. Sofie Lundin brought the puck in, and a quick shot in front by Bouveng netted Sara Hjalmarrson a juicy rebound, which she converted at 10:42, more or less putting the game out of reach.
Nonetheless, Iizuka pulled Kawaguchi with five minutes left...and he paid the price. Japan couldn't gain control in the Sweden end, and Bouveng found the empty cage with 3:19 remaining, her second goal of the game.
Sweden lost Game 1 in WW history, on March 19, 1990, 15-1 to hosts Canada, but today they were the better team and improved their record to 3-0. They have given up a mere 33 shots through those three games. The loss is the third in a row for coach Yuji Iizuka’s team and means that not only do they have to win their final game against Denmark on Tuesday, they need a little help along the way as well.
Sweden closes out its preliminary round with a game against Germany tomorrow.
"Overall, we played well but sometimes we let them create chances that didn't have to happen, but we're happy that we're scoring a lot of goals," said Hilda Svensson. "We have to keep shooting, keep crashing the net."
"I think we played well, and we got goals from a lot of didfferent players, which is good going forward," added Hanna Olsson. "We're really excited for the quarter-finals, but we have one more game first, and it's important we play well and finish strongly in the group. We want to keep going and keep skating. We're a hard-working team."
Group B is a tough test for the five teams. The top three advance to the playoffs while the bottom two are automatically demoted to Division I-A for 2025. Japan has not played down since 2017, and demotion would be a significant blow to its program.
"To start the game we felt confident, but Sweden is a good team and had too much speed at times," said forward Akane Shiga. "In the second period, we started to play better. But now, we have to move on and get ready for the next game. We have to support each other and stay confident and motivated."
Today, the Japanese got off to a slow start and Sweden capitalized with two early goals to take control. The first came on a power play at 6:45. Goalie Riko Kawaguchi lost her stick making a save on a Ebba Hedqvist shot, and moments later Hebqvist got a second chance from the slot and fired between the goalie’s legs on a screen for a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Sweden doubled its lead on a similar play. This time it was Josefin Bouveng from the point, and again her shot found its way through traffic to beat Kawaguchi.
Japan had a great chance to get back into it with a couple of late chances. Makoto Ito got behind the defence and went in alone, but Emma Soderberg was patient with the deke and made the pad save. A short time later, Japan had a two-on-one but couldn’t get a shot on goal.
But Japan came out with a greater sense of purpose in the second and were rewarded. When Sweden failed to clear their zone, Shiori Koike spotted Haruka Toko alone in front. Toko made a nice deke and slid the puck under Soderberg at 7:23 to make it a one-goal game.
A flurry of activity towards the end of the period had the timekeeper working hard to keep up. It started with a power play for Japan, and a faceoff win in the Sweden end. Akane Shiga took a weak shot from a long way out, but Makoto Ito swatted it out of mid-air past a surprised Soderberg to tie the game at 18:12.
Just 16 seconds later, however, that same Ito incurred a penalty, and eight seconds after that Sweden went ahead with a power-play marker of their own. This time it was a Hilda Svensson seeing-eye shot through a tangle of players that gave Sweden the lead again, 3-2.
The Swedes re-gained their two-goal lead early in the third thanks to an unwise pinch at the Sweden blueline by Japan's Haruka Toko. Thea Johansson picked up the puck and dashed the length of the ice, deking Kawaguchi at 4:58 to make it a 4-2 game.
Sweden added to their total five minutes later off the rush. Sofie Lundin brought the puck in, and a quick shot in front by Bouveng netted Sara Hjalmarrson a juicy rebound, which she converted at 10:42, more or less putting the game out of reach.
Nonetheless, Iizuka pulled Kawaguchi with five minutes left...and he paid the price. Japan couldn't gain control in the Sweden end, and Bouveng found the empty cage with 3:19 remaining, her second goal of the game.